why are chocolate chip cookies coming out flat?

ever since i moved to southern california from texas, my chocolate chip cookies bake flat. why does this happen? how do i get them puffy again? i'm using the same old recipe and ingredients from the bag of chocolate morsels. is it the change in altitude (i have no idea if there's difference)? how can i correct this?

5 Comments

Try mrslarkin's recipe for chubby chewy chocolate chip cookies. I'm not sure why your cookie texture has changed, but suspect there are differences between your oven, the ingredients, and the climate that could be contributing. http://www.food52.com/recipes...

like hardlikearmour says, there could be several contributing factors. if your recipe uses baking powder, make sure it's fresh and still potent. get an oven thermometer to make sure working at the right temperature. you can also try chilling your dough and baking it cold. just form dough balls and either refrigerate or freeze them, and then adjust the baking time a little.

It could also be the protein content of the flour or the moisture content of the butter if you're buying different brands in your new location. I agree with hla--try mrslarkin's chubby chewy chocolate chip cookies. They will not fail you.

Last but not least, refrigerate your finished dough for an hour beforehand. This helps them stand up better in the oven (along with some other benefits). This is a rule I've lived by since I was a little girl and I have yet to produce a batch that wasn't awesome